Hearts Keep Beating
by ThatPotterheadTimelord
Summary: A virus has left most of the population dead. Well, undead. Corpses walk around like the living, eating what they can and doing their best to stay moving. But what happens when two worlds collide? Will it work against all odds, or has the world as we know it lost all hope? (Rated T for mild swearing and zombie stuff)
1. A letter from your author

**Hello! If you have stumbled across this story and have decided to read it, well thanks! **

**Basically, this is my twist on Warm Bodies, using Dan and Phil as the main characters. If you've seen it, great. If you haven't, Phil's a zombie who finds Dan, who is living, and through some weird circumstances they become friends. **

**Now, I'm not saying there will be Phan, and I'm not saying there won't be. **

**I won't give away too much. Reading it wouldn't be as fun then! **

**Alright, hopefully you like the story. **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction! **

**~Chelsea :) xx**


	2. Chapter 1

Hi. My name's Phil. Or at least I think it is. That's the name that was written on the back of my jacket that I'm now wearing. Although, I could have taken this jacket off someone else. I can't remember. But I'm going to stick with Phil. Hmm, what else? Oh, that's right. I'm dead.

I've been wandering around these street for a long time. At least as long as I've been like this. There are lots of others too. I'll occasionally bump into them while wandering, or sometimes even grunt at them as they walk by. That's the closest I'll ever come to proper communication. It's probably for the better too, as I wouldn't have much to talk about anyway. I prefer to talk to myself anyway, even if it is in my head. I find myself much better company than I'm sure most others are. At least I have something in common with myself, even if I don't exactly know who I am.

Anyway, I'm bored. I'm always bored I guess. Well, at least I'm what I think bored feels like. I can't really feel emotion. Can't feel much, actually. Oh, the life of the undead. Can't feel emotion, can't feel pain, can't remember anything about your life. It sucks really. But I get by. Sort of.

There's a big part of town that was blocked off by a concrete wall. There are people, living people, who stand outside with guns and shoot anyone who goes near it. We know to stay away, but every now and then they send out people to go get food and medicine and stuff. These are our only chances to eat. I don't exactly like killing people and eating them, but I have to do it to stay moving. Or I will waste away and actually die. Stone dead, not able to move, dead.

Anyway, I'm going to the main hall. That's usually where the living go to get their things, so it's a good place to stick around in the case of a meal. It looks like they're there now.

I walk up the steps in front of the building. Someone tugs at my sleeve. Oh hey! I know you! It's this guy I met around the streets. I walked with him for a while and we see each other around. I might get a moan or a grunt from him, or sometimes even an attempted wave. He's the closest thing I'll ever have to a friend. I grunt. He grunts back. And we walk up the steps together. Someone's moving in the room to the left. I walk over and look through the small window next to the door. Yep, living people. Oh god, I hate what I'm about to do.


	3. Chapter 2

My 'friend' pushes down the door and rushes towards one of the people inside. He jumps on them, knocking them to the ground, and takes a bite out of their neck. Gross, but that way they die quicker. It's a favour I guess. Less pain. The other two people in the room start screaming and run towards the door. I run in.

I jump on one of them. Take a bite out of his neck. I'm not proud of this thing I do, but like I said, it has to be done. Me and my 'friend' both sit on the ground, stuffing our faces with dead humans. He leaves once he's had his fill. I get up to leave after I'd had mine.

But then hey, where's the other dude?

Of course, I like to think of myself as polite, or as polite as I can be. Only eat one. Never go for more. And never kill pointlessly. Maybe give someone a chance.

The third person, as I'd seen before as a young boy, probably around 20, hadn't left the room. I walk around the room, looking for him. I grunt. No, probably shouldn't grunt, guy's probably scared out of his mind.

There's a faint sobbing coming from under one of the tables. I walk over. The boy, brown hair and brown eyes, is sitting under a table, knees to his chest, face soaked with tears. Poor guy. I actually feel bad for him.

When he sees me looking at him he really freaks out. He just tries to back up as far as he can and slashes a knife out towards me. Most people have guns. Hmm. I can't hurt this guy. Already eaten. No use eating again.

But, like I really don't want to hurt him. He just seems so helpless. Most people try to put up a fight but this one just isn't. Okay Phil, maybe you should try to talk.

"N-no" come on Phil, you can do it. "N-no hurt y-you." Okay, good.

The boy just stares at me. He hasn't moved. "No hurt you" I say again.

The boy dropped the knife and I backed up a bit. Then he crawled out from under the table, slowly, and stood up. Good job Phil.

The front door to the main hall creaked open. Great. More zombies. I can't let them hurt this guy. God, Phil, why can't you just be normal? The boy is starting to freak out again. A couple of zombies start to walk towards the room we're both standing in.

Crap! They can smell him! The boy is still standing, pressed against the table.

I don't think he knows what to do. I don't know what to do either. I look around. There's still a bunch of gross stuff from the dead guy on my hands. Maybe if they only smell dead stuff, he can get away.

I reach out my hand to his face. He panics and tries to push further away.

"H-help you" I manage to say. The boy stands still. I take a step closer and slowly reach out my hand to his face, rubbing the dead stuff down his cheek.

The other two zombies walk into the room. The boy just stares at them and stays completely still. The other zombies get closer, sniffing the air. I grunt at them, they grunt back. And eventually, after not finding what they were looking for, the leave.

The boy then proceeds to stare at me.

"Come w-with me" I say, holding out my hand. He shakily reaches out and takes it.

We walk out of the hall. Quite a few zombies have come to the hall, probably in search of a meal. Like I was. I can't believe I'm doing this right now. Zombies aren't supposed to help the living, and vice-versa.

This is crazy. But I'm doing it. I push pass the others, dragging the boy along behind me. I can feel his hand shaking a lot.

We walk down the street for a while until I find a place that looks deserted. I drag him into an alleyway between two houses. He lets go of my hand and stares at me again.

"Who are you?" He whispers, voice shaking. He looks like he's about to start crying again. I hope he doesn't. That could bring unwanted attention.

"Phil" I say. I'm pretty good at this talking thing. I usually don't do it.

"Phil. Okay. I'm Dan. Now what's happening?" He said a bit louder than last time.

"I-I help you" I said.

"Yeah, you've told me that already. Now why?" I shrugged. Why did I shrug? I don't know.

"You're a zombie right?" I nodded. "I don't understand why you're helping me." I don't understand either. God Phil. Why can't you just be normal like everybody else? You're not supposed to do this. This is weird. Zombies don't mix with living people. I just shrugged again. This is going to be hard.


	4. Chapter 3

Dan, obviously accepting that he wasn't going to get a proper answer from me, started to walk out into the street. I ran after him and grabbed his sleeve. "Not safe" I said. "Well, Phil. How am I supposed to get home?" His voice had gotten a lot stronger. He was almost shouting. He shouldn't be shouting. "Not safe." He sighed and started walking again. "D-Dan," he turned around again, "come w-with m-me." I took his hand and he followed me down the road. A lot of others gave us strange looks as we walked. Some sniffed around as we walked past. They could still smell him a bit. But most of them shrugged it off. Why would a zombie be walking around with a living person?

We got back to the front of the hall. The others from before had cleared out and the street was almost empty.

I turned to him. Dan looked at me. "Okay, Phil. I'm going to go now. I appreciate you helping me and all but this is weird," he whispered.

I took off the jumper I was wearing and handed it to him. It might help to cover the smell and make him seem more dead. He took it and put it on, obviously knowing what I was doing. He mouthed the word "thanks" and continued walking down the street. He should be fine as long as he keeps his head down and doesn't bring attention to himself.

It's fine Phil. He'll be fine. I watched him until he turned the corner, and then started walking in the opposite direction. Good job Phil. You saved someone's life. It was weird and unnatural, but you did it.

I just wandered around the streets, like I always did. Grunting at others as they walked by. After walking for a while, at least an hour, I found myself at the back of 'The Camp'.

I opened up one of the doors to a wrecked car that had been left there when they evacuated. Cars are good places to spend the night. Even though we can't sleep, they're still good places to rest. And since not many others like to hang around the camp, even at the back where you can't get shot, it's quiet. Nice. No distractions. So I pushed the seat back and lied there, staring up at the sky, which was now different shades of orange and pink and red. You might think it's weird that a zombie would like this stuff, looking at sunsets, stargazing, lying in the back seat of a car just to escape the noise of others. But I like this stuff. Then again, I'm weird. I wonder if I was this weird when I was alive? Probably was. Although, you can never be sure.

I don't know how long I was lying there, but it must have been a couple of hours because the moon was well up, and I heard someone walking towards me. It's probably another zombie. No, wait, it's moving too quick. Nobody goes back here! Crap, Phil! I jumped out of the car and moved as fast as I could away. Of course, I can't exactly run very fast, being dead and all. And then I tripped. Of course I had to trip. Phil you idiot. The only thing I could do was stay completely still. Maybe they hadn't noticed me? Or they would go past me? Oh god, please don't have guns! I sat on the ground, thankfully out of the light from the camp, not moving, not making a sound, as the footprints got closer.

They were talking. Obviously living. What were they doing outside at night? I can't really hear what they're saying, but there's definitely a male and a female. Can't be too old. Wait, they're closer now. "Come on Dan, have a little fun!" Dan? She said Dan! "Sarah, we're not supposed to be out here! It's dangerous!" That was definitely Dan's voice! Why is Dan out here? The footsteps stop. They're standing about two metres away from me. But they haven't seen me yet. I turn my head slightly to look at them. Yep, it's Dan. And he's with a girl. I'm going to assume the girl is Sarah. "Dan, no one ever goes out here! We're safe." Ha, yeah right. "Sarah, I just don't want you to get hurt. Now please come back inside" "I'm sick of being inside all the time, Dan! They never let me go out!" She's talking too loud. Someone's going to hear you! "Sarah, I went out today, and I was almost killed! You know that." Sarah sighed. Too loudly. Stop being so loud! You're going to get killed!

"Dan, how did you get away?" "I just, I don't know... I-"I moved my hand over a bit and a twig snapped. Crap Phil! Okay, just stay calm. Maybe they didn't hear it. They started moving closer. Crap! No! Stay over there! I can't move now. Soon Dan is standing only half a metre in front of me. I'm still in the shadow. Maybe he won't see me. "Hello, is anyone there?" Crap. "Hello?" Do something Phil! He stepped forward. "Dan," I said. Crap! Why did you say his name? He's gonna be freaked out! He stepped forward again. "How did you know my name?" "Dan, let's go." Sarah started pulling on his jumper. My jumper. He was still wearing my jumper! "Who are you?" Dan asked.

I moved forward a bit into the light. Sarah let go of Dan's jumper and ran. Dan looked like he was about to run after her, but he froze. I stood up straighter, or as straight as I could. "Dan," I said. "Ph-Phil?" he whispered. I nodded slightly. "What are you doing here? You idiot!" Why was he saying this to me? He's the one who's not safe. I didn't know what to say. So I shrugged. Why do I always shrug? Dan sighed. He took off his jumper and handed it to me. "You should probably have this back." I took it from him and nodded. And then he left without another word.


	5. Chapter 4

I walked back to the car I was in before I was interrupted. I was about to get in again when I heard more footsteps. More people? Why is there more people? It sounded like there was a lot of people coming towards me. Like, a lot. And that usually means danger.

I was about to run when I heard someone shouting something. "Run." It sounded like Dan. Again? Why is he out here again? "Run!" The shouting got louder. And closer. "RUN PHIL!" I saw Dan turn the corner. He was sprinting towards me. Why? Then I saw the others. About 15 guys came running around the corner, guns and all. I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction. But, of course, being dead means you can't move very fast. So Dan caught up to me pretty quick and grabbed my arm and dragged me behind him.

We ran down a few streets until we turned into an alleyway and hid until we knew they were gone. I stared at Dan, confused. What just happened? Why were we just chased by the SWAT team? Why was _he _helping _me_? After Dan caught his breath, he put his hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, Sarah told them you were near the camp. And they went to chase you. So I thought I'd help you, you know, so you didn't get your brains blown out." I didn't say anything, just continued staring. "Okay, so, I can't go back there now. They will be covering the only unguarded exit now. So I can't get back in unnoticed. So, I'm lost for ideas."

Someone grunted from around the corner. Crap. I took off my jumper and handed it to him. He put it on. The zombie came around the corner and sniffed around at us. I grunted. He grunted back. And then he left.

I looked back at Dan. I grabbed his arm. We can probably take refuge in one of the houses for the night. We don't tend to go inside the houses, so it's usually safe. He followed me out into the street, where there were a few others walking around. They gave us strange looks. I grunted at the ones who got too close. They grunted back.

I pulled him up the steps of a house next to the alleyway we hid in. He went to open the door. It creaked and swung open. Good, I don't need to kick down a door.

The house was nice. There were paintings and photos hung on the walls, and a chandelier in the front living room. Dan picked up a box of matches from a table and lit a few candles which were laying around. It wasn't much light, but it would have to do. Dan sat down on the armchair in the corner of the room and I sat in the one opposite it. Dan sighed. "Phil," he sat forward in his chair, "why did you save me yesterday, you know, instead of killing me?" How do I explain that to him? Oh, yeah Dan, I took pity on you. I only eat one person at a time. You were crying, so I felt bad. That would sound weird. Zombies don't really take pity on other people. And the 'one person at a time thing' only applies to me. I don't really know why I saved him. It was just in that moment I found some compassion. No, it can't have been that. We can't feel compassion. We don't feel. We're monsters. And so, of course, I shrugged. "You shrug a lot." I shrugged again, then nodded.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Phil." Dan walked out of the lounge room and up the stairs. Good, no more questions tonight. I slouched back in the armchair. Why did I save him? Why him? What was so special about him?

That night passed pretty quickly. I just sat in the chair, asking myself the same question over and over. Why was Dan so fricken special? Once the sun was up, and the room was light enough without the candles, I went into the kitchen. Living people still need food right? And I'm sure he wouldn't be too impressed with someone's kidney for breakfast. I looked in every cupboard and pantry, until I found a small can of what looked like pineapple, and a box of dry crackers.

I walked upstairs with the food and went into the room Dan was sleeping in. He was snoring quietly, and was tangled up in the bedsheets. It didn't look very comfortable, but, you know, he managed to get to sleep like that. I Put the tin and the crackers on the small table next to the bed. Then I tried shaking Dan awake. He didn't stir. "Dan," I said. Then again, a bit louder. Dan's eyes opened and he jumped when he saw me. I didn't realise how creepy it would be to wake up and have a freaking zombie standing over you. I backed up a little.

"Phil, what are you doing?" I pointed to the food I put on the table. "Food," I said. Dan sat upright in bed and grabbed the crackers. He ripped open the packet and shoved one into his mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so hungry!" He pulled the tab on the tin of pineapple and put a few pieces in his mouth. Do people really eat like that? Of course, I can't judge, seeing that I ate his friend a few days ago. "Thanks dude!" I left Dan to his food and went into the next room. The bathroom, as I found out.

I guess I hadn't actually seen my reflection in a while. It's weird, seeing what you look like. I'm pale, almost white. Eyes are grey. Whatever colour they might have been before is long gone. Dan's eyes are a lot nicer. My hair's a mess. Should I care about that? I don't think I, we, should care about appearance at all, being dead and everything. But, still, I don't look very appealing. Oh well, it could be worse, I guess.

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**A/N: I know I've updated like, 3 times today but I have a lot written down. I'll wait a while after I upload this chapter though because I have stuff to do. Shout out to InuNeko245 and CrazyxChaotic for being amazing! Thanks for the lovely reviews and feel free to suggest stuff for me to put in! xx **


	6. Chapter 5

How long was I staring in the mirror? Dan walked in and saw me just looking at myself, which probably looked weird. "Um, Phil?" He said. I turned to face him. "Y-yes, Dan?" He lowered his gaze, "I just wanna say thanks. Thanks for everything. I mean, I would be dead now if it wasn't for you." I nodded. He looked back up at me. "Thank you t-too. Dan," I managed to say. He just nodded, then walked away. I took a final look at myself in the mirror, then followed him downstairs. I don't know what to do. He can't keep walking around town, and he can't go back to the camp. And there's no more food. And I'm an idiot.

"Dan. What do w-we do?" Talking's a problem. I can't seem to say anything other than basic sentences. And it's not very helpful. "Well, Phil. I need to stay somewhere for a few days, maybe a few weeks, until I can form a plan to get into the camp. And here seems alright." "No food." "We can look in other houses." "I uh-" I didn't finish that sentence. Probably for the better, as I didn't know what I was about to say anyway. "Alrighty then. That's settled. I stay here with you and-" "with me?" I cut him off. He wanted me to stay with him? I mean, I understand me staying for a night, but a few weeks? It's mental how much he trusts me. "Yeah man, with you." Dan leaned over and punched me on the shoulder. What? Is that a normal thing? Punching each other? Should I punch him back? No, best not. I just nodded and shrugged, again.

That day Dan searched the house, looking for something interesting to do, while I followed him into each room.

After checking every room upstairs and finding nothing of interest to Dan, I followed him into the basement. This was obviously more of his liking. He walked straight over to the old record player in the corner. "Awesome! Now, if there was anything to play in it... Aha!" Dan pulled out a record from behind the player and put it in place.

_Tell me have you ever wanted, someone so much it hurts..._

Dan smiled and started looking around for more stuff to do. He found a box full of old books, a few notebooks and pens, and a few more records. He was obviously pleased by this. The basement also had a bed and a few more couches.

_...When the summer rolls around, and the sun starts sinking down, I still remember you..._

Dan hummed along to the words of the song, tapping his foot as he did so.

"Well Phil, I like it here. I think we can manage a couple weeks."

I nodded. Dan sat down on one of the couches, slouching back into it. I sat down next to him.

_...We woke under a blanket, all tangled up in skin, not knowing in that moment, we'd never speak again..._

Dan continued humming as the song went on. And we sort of just sat there, listening to the record player, until Dan spoke up.

"Phil, how did you die?" I hadn't actually thought about the answer to this question before. I barely knew anything about when I was alive. Heck, I didn't even know if my name was actually Phil. How did I die? Was it the virus? Was I bitten? "I don't know."

"How can you not know how you died?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know anything about it?"

I shook my head.

"Oh," Dan sighed.

We sat in silence for a while, listening to music. Dan got up every now and then to change the song, but other than that neither of us moved. It was nice actually. No more questions.

But there was questions. How did you die Phil? Who was your family? Where did you live? Who were you Phil? I went over these questions again and again in my head. Come on, Phil. It doesn't even matter about when you were alive. It doesn't change anything. Still, I wanted to know the answers.

We must have been sitting there for a while. I didn't notice that Dan had stopped changing the music, and now he was snoring softly, leaning on the arm of the couch. The record player was just making small pops and cracks. I got up and took the record off.

Dan stretched out more, so he was lying across the whole couch. Should I move him onto the bed? No, don't do that, that's weird. I sat down on the ground next to the couch. Okay Phil, a couple weeks in this house, with Dan. It will be fine. You'll be fine.

Dan started to groan. Crap, is something wrong? No, he's still asleep. Okay. "No," okay, Dan talks in his sleep. "No, Jack," wait, who's Jack? "Jack, run," has he told me of a Jack before? No. Okay. "JACK RUN!" Dan shouted and sat straight up. He looked panicked, and he's breathing really heavily. "Dan," I said, but then didn't know what to say after that. Dan looked at me. "Sorry, Phil. Just a bad dream I guess." I nodded. Then he lied back down and closed his eyes.

Jack. I know that from somewhere. Why is it bothering me so much? I've heard that before. Where was it? Okay, Phil, it doesn't matter.

I'll ask him in the morning.

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**A/N: A few quick things, the song I used (the words in italics) is called 'Owned The Night' By Lady Antebellum and I'm aware you won't find it on vinyl but I really like that song. And thanks everyone for reviewing. I love you all and you're all amazing! Okay, bye lovelies!**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi! Um, this chapter will be a little different. I'm going to try a chapter in Dan's POV, and we'll see how it goes. It might help bring a little more context to the story. Okay, feel free to review and ask questions and suggest stuff! Thanks lovelies! xx**

Dan's POV:

Darn it Dan! You just screamed in your sleep for God's sake! Okay, it's fine, just try to get back to sleep.

I slowly drifted back into subconsciousness, only for the dream to come back. The same dream I've had since I met Phil. Although it wasn't a dream, more a memory. And I hate it.

I was standing in line with two others, Jack, my friend on my left and another boy, that I didn't know too well, named Hank, on my right. Our "Team Captain', John, gave us each a small handgun. Too hard to carry round big guns, especially if you need to run fast. John stood in front of us to give us our orders. "Alright boys. Go straight through the easiest pathway. Stay alert. Watch your back, get in and out of their as fast as you can. And, please be safe." John walked over to Hank, putting a hand on his shoulder. I do know that Hank is John's younger brother. "Please, just be safe." Hank nodded, and John turned to Jack and myself. "You've all got your orders." And then the door opened and we moved out of the camp onto the street. We were headed towards the Hall, which is only a 5 minute walk away. I hadn't been out of the camp before, so I followed behind Jack and Hank.

Soon we got to the back entrance of the hall, which was located in an alleyway. Jack used a key to open the door and went in, Hank and myself following. Jack and Hank then walked into a room to the left of the building. I closed and locked the door behind me as I went in.

The room reminded me of a science lab from school. White walls, sinks in the back, benches scattered with different bottle and jars. Actually, I think it was a science lab.

Jack and Hank started taking containers and jars off the benches and putting them into the backpacks they brought. "Anything I can do?" I ask. "Yeah, go to that bench over there and see if you can find a jar with green pills in it," Jack said, pointing to the bench at the back of the room. I walked over and started looking for said jar.

Something moaned from outside the door. I looked up, and Jack and Hank had their guns pointed at the door. About ten seconds of silence. Then the door broke down and two zombies ran in. One jumped on Hank, who's gun was thrown to the other side of the room. Then it bit into Hank's neck. He twitched a bit, then went completely still.

I tried to move, only my feet seemed to be stuck to the floor. The second zombie jumped on Jack, knocking him to the ground as well. I tried to move and save him, but I couldn't. I just started screaming for him to run, over and over. But to no avail. The zombie bit into Jack's neck, causing him to scream, and then go completely still. And I kept screaming, apparently out loud in my sleep.

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**A/N: I know it's a short chapter but I didn't know how to continue it. I promise an extra long chapter next time. Thanks once again! **


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Just letting you guys know that it's back to Phil's POV. Also updates will be a little less frequent, because I want to put more effort into them and then they can be longer and better for you guys! Thanks for the support. Enjoy your reading! xx**

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I left the basement and went upstairs early the next morning. I sat down on the kitchen floor, with my back against the wall. I don't know why I chose that spot, it just felt like a good spot to think.

Who is Jack? I know I've heard that before. But where? Think, Phil, think!

I sat, almost pulling my hair out for a good hour or so, before Dan walked into the room. He looked at me sitting on the floor, and with furrowed eyebrows he asked, "why are you sitting on the floor?" I don't know why I'm sitting on the floor. I'm just a freak who does stuff like that. I shrugged, and heaved myself up, tripping on my own feet as I did. I would have smashed my face on the corner of the table, except I fell more onto Dan, who almost fell backwards as well. Luckily, he kept his footing. It took me a few seconds to realise that his face was literally centimetres from mine. Crap, Phil. I pushed away from Dan, who was looking startled and quite shocked.

"S-sorry," I said after the longest ten seconds I've ever endured. "It's okay," he mumbled back. He smiled, which looked extremely forced, and quickly went about searching the cupboards for food.

After a few minutes, obviously disappointed about the lack of food he found, he walked out into the lounge room. I waited a minute or so before going in myself. He was sitting in the armchair in the corner, as he did the first night. I sat in the chair opposite him. A few minutes of silence followed, him fiddling with the zip on his jacket, my jacket, and me staring at one spot on the floor.

"Who's Jack?" I asked, breaking the silence. I might finally know the answer.

"Sorry?" Dan said, finally looking up.

"Jack. You were sh-shouting,"

Dan dropped his gaze again. "Oh, he was, uh-" his words were uneasy, like he couldn't get them out quite right, "j-just a friend."

No, come on, Dan. You were shouting his name in your sleep!

Dan looked up at me. His eyes were starting to tear up. "Excuse me a minute."

Dan quickly walked out of the room.

Crap. Now what? What do people normally do in these situations?

I slowly got up and walked out of the room. There were loud sobbing sounds from down in the basement.

Good job, Phil, you made him cry.

I tried to open the door to the basement but it wouldn't open.

"Dan," I called out.

More sobbing.

"Sorry, D-Dan,"

Just more sobbing.

Then I heard him walking up the stairs. He opened the door.

Tears were streaming down his face, and he was shaking, trying to hold back the sobs which kept coming.

"It's not your fault," his voice was shaking a lot.

I didn't know what to do. How do you comfort people in these situations?

He turned around and walked back down the stairs. I waited for a bit, and then followed him down. He was sitting on the bed, leaned against the wall. I sat down on the other end of the bed.

"He was my best friend," he said between sobs. "He was there when we got attacked. When they killed him. I told him to run, but I-" he broke into harder sobs, holding his head in his hands, shaking harder.

Come on, Phil, do something!

I shuffled over so I was sitting next to him on the bed.

"It was too late," he whispered.

Jack. I knew I heard that name before. When I met Dan, when I killed his friend. Jack was the name someone was screaming out in that hall. It was only then I realised it was Dan screaming it out. Does he know I killed him? No, I don't think so, he wouldn't be doing this in front of me if he knew.

Damn it, Phil! Idiot!

Dan looked up at me. And then he said something that filled me with all the guilt in the world.

"But you would never kill someone, would you?"

There were so man things I wanted to say then. But I couldn't think of how to put it. How do you tell someone who trusts you that you killed their best friend?

Dan, I wish I didn't. I regret everything. I'm so, so sorry. It was my fault.

But I just shook my head.

Idiot. Liar.

Dan's sobs became less violent, and he wiped the tears off his face with the sleeve of his jacket, my jacket.

"Thanks Phil. For everything."

And then Dan stood up, and I stood up.

And then he hugged me. Actually hugged me.

No, I don't deserve it. I'm sorry Dan. I screwed everything up. I always screw everything up. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

And then Dan walked back up the stairs, leaving me alone in the basement.

Stupid. Liar. Idiot.

Monster.

That's all you'll ever be Phil. You're just a stupid corpse.

If you weren't so weird, none of this would have ever happened. If you had just left him. If you just acted like a normal freaking zombie. Not spent your nights looking at stars. Not tried talking, or acting like a real person.

Idiot.

Liar.

Monster.


	9. Chapter 8

Upstairs, Dan was sitting in a chair in the kitchen, with his feet rested up on the table. His face was hidden behind a book. The cover had faded, but I could just make out the title, _An Imperial Affliction. _He lowered the book slightly when I walked in, flashing me a smile. His eyes were still red from the crying, but he seemed a lot better.

I sat down at the other end of the table. He continued reading.

Come on Phil. You have to tell him. He trusts you. You lied to him. Tell him the truth now!

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words stumbled. I ended up making this weird choking/ growling sound.

"You okay?" Dan asked, glancing up from the book.

I nodded quickly. Damn it Phil!

Dan took his feet down off the table and put the book down.

"Hey, I haven't eaten in a while. Do you wanna help me find food? You know, in a different house? I'm pretty sure we're not going to find any more here."

I nodded and stood up. He did the same.

An abrupt banging came from the front door, followed by an all too familiar groan.

I froze. No, no, no. This can't happen.

"Phil, what's happening?"

Dan. You have to get Dan out of here.

"Basement," I said, turning around to face him.

He stood still for a moment, before nodding slowly and leaving the room.

The banging kept getting louder, followed by more groaning.

Don't let them get to Dan. You owe him at least that.

I went to stand in the hallway, blocking the path to the basement.

Don't let them get to Dan.

It didn't take long for the door to be knocked down. An army of corpses, there must have been at least 20, came crashing through the doorway. A lot more than I was prepared to go up against. But still I stood my ground.

The group moved towards me.

I had no chance, but I wasn't thinking about that. My only thought was to keep them away from Dan.

The few at the front of the group stopped about a metre from where I was standing. Every face with the same blank expression. Although, I guess we are all cursed with that.

No one moved for a while, and we stared each other down, 20 to 1.

Then, there was a bit of shuffling around, and one of them stepped out of the crowd, walking straight up to me.

There was faint look of recognition in his eyes. He looked familiar to me too.

Of course! You were the one at the hall! When I killed Jack, and when I met Dan.

He grunted, and then tried to push past me. I, of course, stopped him.

He looked at me again, probably trying to figure out what I was doing.

I just shook my head.

He grunted, and once again tried to push past me. I, again, stopped him.

He was obviously angered by this, as he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

But he walked back towards the group, who were grunting among themselves, confused.

He pushed his way back through, and exited the back of the crowd. And one by one, they followed him back out into the street.

Something isn't right.

The last of the zombies left.

That doesn't happen. Corpses aren't really the kind to _co-operate_ with one another.

Had they actually formed a plan? How did they know he was here in the first place?

This doesn't make sense.

Okay, Phil, it doesn't matter. Dan's safe.

The door had been knocked completely off it's hinges. I picked it up, it was heavier than I thought, and put it back in it's place. It would have to do for now.

"Phil, are they gone?" I heard Dan's voice from the basement door.

I nodded. Then realising he couldn't actually see me, I called out to him that he could come out.

The door opened and Dan stepped out.

"What happened?" he asked.

"They left."

Dan looked confused. I knew what he was thinking.

'Why would they just leave?'

I don't know Dan. I wish I could tell you.

"So I guess that means we're not getting food?"

I can't let him leave the house.

"Not safe. I'll go."

He nodded, and went back down into the basement.

Okay Phil, he'll be fine as long as he stays in the basement,

I went to open the front door, forgetting that it was broken, causing it to almost flatten me.

I stopped it just in time, stepping outside and leaning the door back against the door frame.

Taking one final look at the house, I headed off down the street.

The sun was starting to set, so I would have to hurry.

I chose a house a few down, and walked up to the porch.  
The door was unlocked. Good.

I stepped inside. There was a cabinet next to the door. There were shelves covered with different coloured picture frames, each one containing photographs of different people. I spent a few minutes studying the photos.

I had a really weird feeling about them.

I don't know what it was. It was almost like deja vu, except it couldn't be, because I hadn't been in this house before. I picked up one of the picture frames and held it closer to the window so I could see it better.

It was a picture of a boy, maybe 14 or 15, with black hair that covered his ears and piercing blue eyes.

It was very off-putting. I took the photo out of the frame and folded it up. I slipped it into the pocket of my jeans.

I made my way through the house, easily finding my way to the kitchen.

I opened the pantry to see it had a vast collection of canned fruits and vegetables. I grabbed a couple of cans and left the house, taking one final look at the cabinet of photographs.

When I got back inside the house where Dan and I were staying, I knocked on the basement door. Dan quickly opened it. He smiled, stepping aside for me to enter. I walked down the stairs and he followed.

I handed him the cans which I took from the other house. He took them, setting one down on a table and pulling the tab on the other.

He popped a few pieces of diced peach into his mouth.

"Thanks Phil," he said, flashing me a smile.

I nodded, then went to sit down on the couch. I took the photo out of my pocket and stared at it.

Who was it? Why does it look so familiar? And why does it make me feel so weird?

Dan walked up behind the couch and looked over my shoulder at the picture.

"Hey, that kinda looks like you."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! This chapter was so hard to write, ugh. But it was fun. It's also very confusing. But it will all make sense later. Thanks guys! Bye xx**


	10. Chapter 9

Both Dan and I stared at the photograph in my hands, both shocked and amazed at how, out of all the houses in that street, I chose the one which I may have once lived in.

No, the boy in the picture can't be me. It's just coincidence. It can't be...

Can it?

I rushed up the two flights of stairs to the bathroom.

I stood in front of the mirror, holding the photo in front of me, eyes switching from the picture to the mirror, then back again.

Dan came running up to the bathroom, slightly out of breath.

He stood next to me in front of the mirror.

"What are the odds, huh?"

I didn't know what to do at that point.

The boy in the picture was me.

Except, of course, I was dead. My skin was paler. That mesmerising blue in his eyes was long gone, leaving me with lifeless grey.

I had to go back to that house. Except not now.

Wait till morning.

I folded the picture back up and walked back down into the basement, Dan following close behind.

Dan placed a record on the record player and soon music filled the room.

_Can't seem to take your picture off the wall, we've been apart for way too long._

Dan half-walked, half-danced, over to the couch and sat down. His foot started tapping to the music.

He sighed.

"Well wasn't today fun?"

I nodded.

_There goes one more sunset without you, do you see what I see._

We sat in silence once again, letting the soft tune of the record player drone on in the background.

I liked these nightly music sessions. It gave me time to think.

Think about the photograph. The house. The group of zombies who came and left without explanation.

Why were these things happening? It's weird, strange. Somewhat exciting.

_A beautiful night making it's debut. _

Dan yawned.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed,"

I nodded.

The couch cushions shifted as he stood up, and I watched him walk slowly over to the bed.

He lied down on top of the sheets. It was probably very hot, but I couldn't tell.

And he was still wearing my jumper.

"Goodnight Phil," I heard him whisper, before turning on his side to face the wall.

_The stars remind me of you._

I let the record play until it ended, making cracking and whirring noises until I got up to take it off.

Soon the only sound was Dan, softly snoring away.

I sat back down on the couch, leaning back into the cushions.

I found myself staring at the staircase, my mind going back to the zombies, and how the front door was no longer attached to the door frame, meaning anything could get in.

I kept staring at the staircase, until about an hour later I convinced myself to stop worrying.

Then, my mind went straight to the photograph, and how tomorrow morning I was going back to the house. To find out who I was.

The idea excited me. There were mere hours until I got to see how the boy in the picture lived.

The hours seemed to drag on forever.

I ended up pacing the room, waiting for the sun to come up so we could go.

When the light coming from the gap under the door indicated that it was light enough, I walked over to Dan's bed.

Crap! How do I wake Dan up?

I tried shaking his shoulder, and he moaned and rolled over to lie on his back.

"Dan,"

His eyes slowly opened.

"What do you want?" he mumbled.

I pulled the photograph out of my pocket. He got the hint.

He groaned in protest, and then sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Come on then,"

He stood up, stretched, and ran his hand through his hair before following me up the stairs.

I moved the door enough so we could walk out.

There was barely anyone out on the street so we were okay to go.

I walked as fast as I could to the house, Dan behind me, laughing at my eagerness.

When we got inside, I took another look at the cabinet.

I don't know what the feeling was when I looked at it. My throat tightened and my stomach felt unsettled.

It was strange. Exciting.

I started to wander my way through the house, taking in little details.

For each room I went in, the feeling got stronger.

Dan followed closely behind me the whole time.

Upstairs, there were only two rooms. One of them was a bathroom.

When I walked into the other, my eyes went straight to another cabinet on the other side of the room. The cabinet had shelves covered in photographs and trophies and knick-knacks.

The trophies, as I discovered, were all for basketball. Topped with plastic figurines in different positions. All had the same name engraved into them.

_Phil Lester_.

Well, at least I was right about my name.

Most of the photos were of the boy in the picture that I had. Some, he was standing next to other people. One of him holding a basketball. Another of him wearing a suit and holding a certificate.

Dan put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, Phil. This is pretty cool."

I nodded.

It was pretty cool.

But then I caught a glimpse of myself in the small mirror on the wall.

My face was blank, expressionless. All the colour drained from my eyes. Skin much paler. So different from the photographs.

The boy in the pictures seemed so alert, so happy. So alive.

And I realised, that this house may have once been mine, but no longer is.

I may have once had a family, played basketball, had the friends that stood next to me in the pictures.

And I realised that although I may have once been the boy in the pictures, the boy in the pictures is not me.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! I made myself sad with this chapter... Anyway, once again, thanks so much for reviewing! You guys are all amazing! **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction. **

**xx**


	11. Chapter 10

I took a step back from the cabinet, letting the realisation wash over me. The previous feeling of... whatever it was, had passed. I was now just standing in a stranger's house.

"Let's go," I mumbled, turning around and making my way out of the room.

Dan hesitated before following me out.

"Phil, what's wrong?" Dan came up and walked beside me.

I shrugged, keeping my gaze fixed on the floor.

Out the door, across the street, back into the other house.

I threw myself down on the couch in the basement, resulting in a muffled _thud._

It was at this time I wished I could feel some emotion. Even sadness would be better than the blank emptiness inside me.

_But that could never happen, Phil. _

Dan sat down next to me. I didn't even look up.

"Hey, what happened?"

I shrugged.

"Not all you thought it would be?"

I nodded.

"Well, come on, cheer up."

He nudged me with his elbow.

Nothing.

Dan sighed and stood up from the couch. I still stared at the floor in front of me.

Soon the familiar cracks and pops of the record player filled the room.

_Don't know why he does what he does_

Dan sat back down on the couch.

His foot tapped away to the beat of the music, as it always did.

_Playing lost and found with your love._

I went over the past week in my mind.

Phil, you've known Dan for four days. No, it can't have only been four days. It felt like weeks.

_Trying to confuse you._

Four days. How did so much happen in four days?

Okay, Phil, start from the beginning.

You killed Jack, you met Dan. Dan doesn't know you killed Jack.

Dan was outside with Sarah. Sarah ditched Dan.

_He's gonna lose you, sure enough._

Sarah then told people that you were near the camp. They came after you, but Dan saved you. You both went to the house. He slept upstairs. You brought him food. Then, you found the basement.

He liked the basement.

Okay, then what? Phil, think!

Okay, so Dan liked the basement, and then he had the dream about Jack. Jack was his friend.

Then, you asked him about Jack, and then you lied about Jack.

Okay.

Then there was the group of zombies. Why were the zombies there? I don't know. But I'll figure it out.

Then, you went to the other house. And there was the photograph.

And you went back to Dan. And the next day you went back to the house, and you found more photographs. And that was... not so great.

Four days. Four days to do that much.

And Dan. Could I call him a friend?

He'd told me so much about him, yet not much at all.

How could it have only been four days?

_I'd like to shine in your eyes_

I finally looked up from the spot on the floor.

Dan was now sitting with his legs crossed underneath him, and he was reading again.

He was about half way through _An Imperial Affliction._

_If only just for a moment, I'd be satisfied._

It was interesting the way he read.

The way he seemed so focused on the book.

The way his expression changed, and how the corner of his mouth was curved upward ever so slightly.

_If I could only touch your cheek_

It was weird, but I liked watching Dan. The same way I liked stargazing. It was interesting, even peaceful.

Maybe emotion would help me make sense of it.

_That's all I need, to make my life complete._

I don't know what it was about him.

He was so calm and collected.

He was sitting beside me right now, me, a freaking corpse, and he didn't seem to care.

He told me stuff about him, about his past.

He actually trusted me.

And me, why did I help him?

It was so strange, thinking about this.

_I know I can make you smile._

I couldn't make sense out of anything.

I wanted to figure it all out.

The last few days had been so weird. Dreadful and wonderful at the same time.

So many unanswered questions.

_If you know that I'll be here._

"Dan,"

He looked up from the book. "Hm?"

And there were so many things I could have said right then. So many questions about everything, waiting to burst out of my mouth.

There was a moment of silence, yet my mind was screaming.

"Nothing," I said finally.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, then returned to the book.

And we sat for who knows how long, him reading, me not really doing anything.

The music had long stopped playing, and the dimmed light coming from under the door suggested the sun was going down.

Dan shut the book, quite loudly, and dropped it on the ground next to the couch.

"Damn thing ended in the middle of a sentence," he muttered, stretching his arms above his head.

He stood up from the couch and walked over to the table on the other side of the room, where there was still a can of spinach from yesterday.

Dan went to open it, then realised there was no tab.

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a swiss army knife and poking a hole in the can.

He wrestled the lid off, and put some in his mouth.

Dan finished eating, wiped his mouth with his jacket sleeve, my jacket, and sat back down on the couch.

A few minutes of silence, which I was well used to by now.

Dan broke the silence with a yawn. "Looks like it's getting late. I'm going to bed."

He stood up off the couch and made his way over to the bed.

He lied down on his back on top of the covers.

"Night Phil."

"Goodnight, Dan."

Soon, the only sound was him snoring softly.

I lied down on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

And closed my eyes.

Now, I knew I couldn't actually sleep, and that night was no exception.

But it felt nice just pretending.

Hours passed.

And I was brought out of my pretend sleep by the floorboards creaking above me.

Someone's in the house.

I stood up quickly.

Dan was no longer snoring, so I guessed he heard it too, but he didn't move.

Silence.

I cautiously made my way to the bottom of the stairs.

A minute passed, nothing happened.

I almost went back to the couch, convinced it was nothing

Then there was banging at the door.

And an all too familiar groan.

* * *

**A/N: Woop! Ten chapters! I feel like we should celebrate or something... CAKE FOR EVERYONE**

**Anyway, huge thanks again to everyone. You guys are amazing! I always get excited seeing new reviews and follows. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. **

**And I'm sorry I uploaded this late. I was busy doing important stuff like learning how to do CPR and doing assignments and going on Tumblr. **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction. **

**~Chelsea :) xx**


	12. Chapter 11

One door. Only one door between us this time.

I couldn't do anything. I couldn't fend them off.

They would get to Dan.

No.

I wouldn't let them.

The banging and the groaning grew louder.

Soon the door would be knocked down.

"Phil," I turned around to see Dan standing there. He was holding a crowbar.

Probably just found it lying around.

Great, so we have to fend off an army of zombies with a crowbar.

I looked around the room.

I spotted a shovel leaning against the wall behind a few boxes.

I grabbed it, and returned to the stairs.

More banging, more groaning.

And we stood there for a few more minutes, holding our makeshift weapons towards the door, and waited.

And waited.

The rhythmic beat coming from the door kept going on and on.

"Maybe they can't get throu-" Dan's sentence was cut short by the door flying down the stairs, causing Dan and I to jump back.

"Or not."

The mob came crashing down into the basement, and I just kept swinging at them, not caring what the shovel hit.

More and more corpses piled in.

A lot more than last time.

They had gotten new recruits?

I just swung any time one of them got close, Dan behind me doing the same.

Before we new it, the basement was full.

They had surrounded us.

Back to back, Dan and I held the weapons out as far as we could in front of us.

Every time one stepped forward, I swung at them.

Soon, all movement stopped.

I could feel Dan tense up.

There was an eerie silence. No one moved.

An eternity passed, before one of them stepped forward.

I swung at him, but he didn't step back.

It was the one from last time, the one who tried to push past me.

He knocked the shovel out of my hands.

It fell to the floor, the clattering sound echoing the room.

I was defenceless.

Shit.

None of the others moved, it was just him. Dan still had his back pressed against mine.

Silence. He walked up to me, until there were mere centimetres between us.

"What," he was talking. Talking! Others can do it!

His voice was rough, and he spoke through his teeth.

"WHAT" he said louder.

I did nothing, just stared.

He took a step back, and then pointed at Dan.

"Food,"

I shook my head.

He seemed angered by this.

"FOOD! WE EAT!"

We. It came to me then that he had started something. He had lead an army of corpses.

Corpses were co-operating.

Zombies could talk, think, do things.

And they were proving it right now.

They were all together, somehow. They had formed a plan.

Maybe we were still a little human.

Before I knew it I was on the floor.

I didn't exactly pass out, it's just my brain was cloudy, and I couldn't really control anything.

I looked up, and the zombie from before had pinned Dan to the floor.

I tried to stand up, but my legs gave out.

The zombie was inches from Dan, who was barely able to push him away.

But his arms were shaking, and I knew he couldn't hold for much longer.

I watched, too weak to get off the floor.

My brain was screaming so loud I couldn't hear anything else.

I could see Dan was just about to give up.

I was just about to give up.

I knew I could do nothing.

I'm so, so sorry Dan.

I started having flashbacks of the past four days.

Of Jack, of Sarah, of the alleyway and the bathroom mirror. Of how we sat on the couch in silence, listening to the record player. Of him crying and me lying to him. Of how I watched him as he read, studying ever little detail.

Things I knew would never happen again.

Dan looked like he had given up, arms lowering slowly.

And the jumper.

He was still wearing my jumper.

And that was the detail that did it for me. I heaved myself up with all the mental and physical strength I had.

And everything went in slow motion.

I didn't really know what happened.

I just found myself smashing the guys head in with the crowbar. I can't remember picking up the crowbar.

It was gross.

It was strange.

It was... exciting.

The zombie's body lied motionless on the floor.

Every eye in the room turned on me. An astonished silence.

And then I realised what I had done.

I had turned on one of my own, to defend a human.

To protect Dan.

I collapsed next to him, exhausted.

And then, one by one, the others left the basement.

It was strange to see. Although, nothing's been quite normal recently.

I could hear Dan breathing heavily beside me.

After all the corpses had left, and we were alone in the basement again.

I pulled myself up so I was sitting.

"Phil," I looked at him. He had a large gash across his forehead. Blood was steadily streaming out of it.

I ripped a bit of fabric from my shirt and pressed it against the gash.

He winced, then held it there himself.

We sat on the floor of the basement for a while.

I tried to make sense of what I had seen.

Corpses had formed a plan. At least a hundred of them had come together.

And they had a leader, and I smashed his head in.

I had thought I was weird for thinking about things, for talking, for acting human, but maybe it wasn't so weird.

Maybe we were all still a little human inside.

This thought was strange, but somehow, almost comforting.

That there would still be that little bit of humanity left.

Dan's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Phil, I-" he hesitated. "I have to go back home."

* * *

**A/N: This was so fun to write! Although it's a little weird. **

**Anyway, thankyou all so much for reviewing and whatnot. You're all amazing! **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction**

**~Chelsea :) xx**


	13. Chapter 12

I didn't want to admit it, but I agreed with Dan. After what had just happened, he needed to go home. He almost died then. That couldn't happen again.

I nodded.

"So, tomorrow, can you take me home?"

I nodded again.

He smiled. Yet it didn't look like his normal smile. It was more sad.

And without another word, he stood up and went to bed.

I stayed where I was.

I looked up at the now empty door frame.

Nothing to stop someone getting in the house now.

I closed my eyes again.

I felt bad. I didn't know why, but I did. I felt empty. And I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of Dan. I had only known him for four days. That shouldn't be long enough to become attached.

The basement was silent. I mean, I knew it was normally quiet, but it was completely silent. I realised that Dan wasn't snoring. He had usually fallen asleep by now but he hasn't.

Completely silent, and it was horrible. I felt like turning the record player on or something, but I didn't. I just sat there.

Silent and empty.

And I tried let my mind wander. But it was harder this time. Normally my head would be bursting with questions. But this time, there were none. None I wanted to answer. None I wanted to think about. All I could think about was Dan, and how horrible it would be without him. I felt better around him. He let me pretend that I was alive, if only for a moment.

I would have to go back to being a corpse when he was gone.

No. I couldn't do that. Not now, after all this. I couldn't kill another person.

My mind went back to the incident before. The humanity I saw in that plan with the zombies. How horrible and wonderful it was to see.

I wanted that humanity to be stronger. I wish we didn't have to be corpses.

I didn't want more people to get hurt.

I shut my eyes tighter.

Half of me wanted none of this to be real. I would open my eyes and I would have never been a zombie. I would have opened my eyes right then and wake up in a hospital bed somewhere and someone would say that I hit my head and passed out.

But half of me wanted to stay in that basement. I didn't know why. I didn't know whether it was because of Dan or the zombies before and the little bit of humanity.

It was so confusing. I just didn't know what I wanted.

I opened my eyes.

Dan was crouched down in front of me.

I guess that was a reasonable third option.

"Sorry, I couldn't get to sleep," he said.

I nodded.

He sat down next to me. Like, right next to me.

He laughed nervously.

"Ok, this is going to be a bit weird,"

He rested his head down on my shoulder.

I wanted to tell him that I didn't think it was weird, but I stopped myself.

And we just sat like that for a while, no talking, no anything.

It felt nice, being that close to someone. I mean, when he hugged me a few days back, it was quick and awkward. But this, this was nice.

And soon I could hear the gentle snores. It was comforting, just another reminder that he was there.

I closed my eyes again.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was up and the room was bright enough to see around clearly.

It was weird, it didn't feel like that long.

Dan was still leaning against me, but no longer snoring.

"Dan," I whispered.

He sat up a bit straighter and looked at me.

"Morning," he said with a smile. It was still the sad one from before, though.

We both stood up, brushing ourselves off.

"Well, we best get going,"

I nodded, and started heading up the stairs, carefully avoiding the door which was lying at the bottom. Dan started following me up.

"Hang on a second," he said, turning around. He walked over to the couch and picked up the book he had been reading.

I thought he finished it. Oh well, it didn't matter.

We headed up the basement steps and out the front door.

I wasn't even worrying about the zombies. Luckily, there weren't many about.

We walked side by side down the street in silence, taking turns where necessary, until we reached the back of the camp.

There were a couple of guards standing next to the back entrance, so we stayed where they couldn't see us.

Dan turned to face me.

"I guess this is it, huh?"

I nodded slowly. I really didn't want that to be it. I wanted to stay with him, protect him. But I knew that couldn't happen.

The next thing I knew Dan leaned forward and hugged me. Except it was different from last time. He wrapped his arms tight around my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder.

I soon found myself doing the same.

"I'll miss you," he said. He sounded like he was about to cry.

"I'll miss you too," I said back to him.

And then he pulled away from the hug, gave me one final smile, and ran off.

I sat down where I was.

I wanted to see him again, but I knew I wouldn't.

I started to get a weird feeling in my chest. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't like it.

If I wasn't just a stupid corpse, I could see him. I could see him everyday. But I had to be a stupid freaking corpse.

I sat there, I didn't care how long, pulling at my hair and getting angry at myself.

I would never see Dan again. I would never see him reading or smiling or laughing or talking again. Stupid.

Freaking.

Corpse.

I kept pulling at my hair to try and calm myself down. For some reason the pain- wait. The pain?

Corpses can't feel pain. I stood up.

How was this happening?

I started freaking out.

No, you're imagining it. It's all in your head. You can't feel pain, you're a corpse, remember?

I didn't know what was happening. It was all so weird. I was feeling pain. I was missing someone. I was having weird feelings.

No. It can't be.

Can it?

* * *

**A/N: OHMYGOD WHAT'S HAPPENING TO PHIL OHMYGOD!? **

**Yeah, I almost gave myself a heart attack writing this. I'm actually excited for my own writing... That's not weird is it?**

**THE FEELINGS IN THIS CHAPTER :D D: **

**This is a weird author's note. I have had an overload of sugar and not much sleep, so you know... Ignore me **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction**

**~Chelsea :) xxxx**


	14. Chapter 13

I couldn't comprehend what was happening. Everything was confusing and my head was spinning.

Why can't things just make sense for once?

Once I managed to calm myself down, I tried to think things over.

Pain. Weird feelings that you can't quite explain.

Humanity.

I started to think. Maybe this was just that bit of humanity left over. That little part of my brain telling me I'm still a little human. But that means...

I had to get to Dan.

But I couldn't get inside the camp.

Think, Phil, think!

I looked around the corner at the back entrance. The guards had to take a break sometime, right?

If I just waited.

I moved a little closer to the back entrance, making sure to stay out of sight. If I just waited until night, maybe they would switch posts or something. Just enough time for me to get in.

And so I sat there, just out of sight of the guards, but where I could see them, and I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The day passed so slowly. Each minute seemed like an hour. I tried my best to keep myself entertained, but nothing worked.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sun finally started to set.

I heard some shuffling around coming from the guards. I looked up. They were starting to leave the entrance, but two other guards were coming around the corner. If I just could go without them seeing me...

I made a dash towards the camp wall, hidden by broken cars and shrubs. I pressed up against the wall. There was a gap in the doors. Maybe just enough for me to get through.

I shut my eyes and tried to calm myself down, but adrenaline was coursing through me, causing me hands to shake.

The guards were talking to each other. Good. They were distracted.

As quietly as I can, I made my way through the gap. I almost didn't make it, but soon I was on the other side. I was in the camp.

There were people walking around everywhere, but I made sure I was hidden.

I waited about an hour or so until the commotion outside died down, and it was dark enough to walk around without being caught.

There weren't many people outside now, other than a few guards, probably heading back from their duty. I walked along the wall of the camp, keeping my head down, trying to seem as not dead as possible.

There were a variety of tents set up about 100 metres in front of me. I could see some people sitting out the front. Not soldiers. They looked more like teenagers. As I walked closer, making sure to hide myself behind things as often as possible, I heard a bit of their conversation.

I stood behind a large trailer that was just big enough to hide me. I listened in to what they were saying.

"How'd you manage to stay alive out there?"

"Yeah, Danny, it must have been tough."

Danny?

"Well, I don't know, I got lucky."

Dan! That was Dan!

"Did you have to, like, fight off zombies or anything?"

"Yeah, a few."

Ha, it was more than a few.

I was so excited about hearing Dan's voice again, I accidentally kicked the trailer.

Shit!

"Hey, what was that?" I heard one of them say.

Then I heard one of them walking towards me.

No, please no! Phil, think!.

They were getting closer.

I decided to run for it.

I just ran, concealed by a few more tents and crates, until I got to the area behind the tents.

I hope no one saw me. No one came after me, so I'm guessing they didn't.

It was close. Too close.

But I found Dan.

Now you have to figure out a way to talk to him.

I felt something cold press against the back of my neck.

"Don't bloody move," I hadn't heard the voice before. It was older, more rough.

I heard something click.

It's a gun. He's going to blow my head off.

No! Not now! I need to talk to Dan! This can't be happening now!

I closed my eyes.

"No!" I heard someone scream from behind me. The guy moved the gun away from my neck. I turned around. Dan was running towards the two of us.

"Dad, please don't shoot him!"

"Dan, it's just a corpse!"

"No dad!" I could see his face now, his eyes were getting watery.

"Dan get back inside." I saw now that the man was dressed in the soldier uniform. He pointed the gun back at me.

Dan stepped in between me and the gun.

"Dad, you have to listen to me! He's not just a corpse. He kept me alive while I was gone. When I left the camp, I would have been dead if it wasn't for him!" He was starting to cry now.

His dad looked confused. And angry.

"Dan, corpses don't do that. They are killers. They can't feel anything, they don't help people."

Dan didn't move. He just stood there, in front of me.

His dad lowered the gun.

Dan turned around to me.

"Phil, why did you come here? It's not safe."

"To see you," I said.

Dan smiled a little. A proper smile. Not the sad one like before.

It was nice.

_Click. Bang._

_Blackout._

* * *

**A/N: Yay guys! **

**Uh, one quick thing. I had a look at the Traffic Stats for this story and HOLY MOTHER OF TOAST! 300 visitors and something like 1,100 views, like what?! **

**That's absolutely mental! Thankyou so so sos sososossosososo much for that! I still can't believe it! **

**You're all amazing! **

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction**

**~Chelsea :D xxxxxx**


	15. Chapter 14

_The world is weird._

_Sometimes things happen that you can't quite explain. _

_Questions that will never be answered. _

_These things can be either good or bad, or somewhere in between. _

_Some people call them miracles, others blame religion. _

_But they remain unexplainable. And always will be. _

_I had seen many of these things happen in the past week. _

_They troubled me at first, but I learned to accept them. _

_Because there are so many other things to think about. _

_Because the world we live in is weird. _

_Wonderful and horrible at the same time. _

_Beautiful._

_Breathtaking. _

_Exciting. _

* * *

I looked around. I was back in the basement of that house. Except it looked different. It looked... cleaner. There weren't any cobwebs hanging off the ceiling or anything. The cracks in the walls were gone. Everything was straightened up perfectly.

The music from the record player filled the room, although I couldn't quite place the tune.

"Hey, Phil!"

I turned around. Dan was standing at the bottom of the staircase, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Dan!" My own voice surprised me. It wasn't the raspy growl that I had before. It was clear, it sounded more human.

I walked closer to Dan, but when I did, the smile faded from his face.

"What's wrong Dan?" I asked.

He looked scared. Eyes wide, jaw hung open.

"Dan, what is is?"

He started to walk back up the stairs.

"Dan!" I was pleading now.

What was happening? Dan, why were you leaving me?

"DAN!" I cried out.

Dan disappeared up the stairs, and I tried to run after him, but my feet wouldn't move.

Suddenly I could see myself. I don't know why, I don't know how. But I could.

My skin started to crumple. Flaking off from every part on my body.

I looked at my hands. It was almost just bone.

I started to scream, although I couldn't hear it. All I could hear was the music from the record player, although it was now playing a much darker, haunting tune.

And I watched myself waste away, my hands and face and legs deteriorating until I was just bone.

* * *

I opened my eyes.

I was lying in a bed, of some sort.

I could hear quiet chatter and the sound of footsteps.

I sat up a bit so I could see were I was.

I was in a tent. There were other beds lined up around, some empty, some with people lying or sitting in them. A few people in white coats were walking around, talking to people, writing things down on clipboards.

One of them walked over to me, smiling.

"Ah, you're awake. Phil, is it?"

I nodded, still not really sure what was happening.

He wrote a few things down on the clipboard he was carrying under his arm.

He leaned over the bed, shining this weird light thing in my eyes.

"Well, you seem to be doing pretty well," he said with a smile.

And then he left to talk to someone else.

"Phil!" I turned my head to see Dan standing at the opening of the tent.

He almost ran up to me and wrapped his arms around my neck.

I winced. Something in my neck really hurt.

He pulled back.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about that."

He pulled a chair over and sat down next to me.

"Dan, where- uh, what happened?"

"To be honest, I don't really know myself. Dad shot you, he says sorry about that, but when he shot you, you passed out. And then, it was weird, because it was bleeding, and you're not supposed to bleed," he paused for a bit, before continuing. "And then Dad was like 'Oh shit, he's bleeding' and so we took you to here, and they said that the bullet had missed all the important stuff. They don't even know why you passed out, it just ripped the muscle a bit."

I stared at him in shock. How did this happen?

"And, the weirdest part is-" He looked up at me, and I saw the mix of confusion and happiness in his eyes, "the weirdest part is that they found a heartbeat."

I tried to read his expression, to see if he was lying. But no, he wasn't.

A heartbeat? I couldn't have a heartbeat. A heartbeat means that...

"I'm alive?"

A massive grin crept onto Dan's face.

I looked down at my hands. They weren't white. Still pale, but not white like they were before.

There was a small mirror sitting on the table next to the bed. I grabbed it.

It was like looking at a different person.

More colour. There were no black circles under my eyes any more.

And my eyes. It was like the picture...

The picture!

I remembered I still had it in my pocket. I pulled it out, comparing it to the reflection in the mirror.

No, it can't be, no- yes, yes it is!

It was confusing. I didn't really know what was happening, or how it was happening or even how I was supposed to feel about it.

I got out of bed and went outside.

The pain in my neck increased. It hurt a lot. But somehow it felt good. Just feeling pain.

Dan ran out after me.

"You're not really supposed to be out of bed!"

I didn't care. I just turned around and hugged Dan, which surprised him, because I practically jumped on him. But he kept his balance, and eventually hugged me back. And I was laughing. I didn't know what that felt like before, but it felt great.

"Ahem." I let go of Dan and turned around. His dad was standing there, looking a mix of confused and angry. For some reason I thought he was going to hit me.

Instead he patted me on the shoulder. "Uh, sorry about your neck." He smiled, sorta, and then he walked off. I shrugged, again making my neck hurt like hell.

"Come on, you need to go back inside," Dan said, grabbing my arm and leading me back to the tent.

* * *

**A/N: Yay Phil's alive!**

**No, I don't know how. Just for the sake of this story, he was dead and he is now not dead. No more questions. At least it's a happy ending. **

**BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! More, you say? YES!**

**That was really stupid... **

**But yeah... There will be a few more chapters. Maybe. If I can think of anything... **

**Okay, thankyou to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favourited, read or acknowledged my story's existance. You guys are amazing!**

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction**

**~Chelsea :D xxxxxx**


	16. Chapter 15

_Several months later:_

Dan's dad let me stay at the camp. I shared a housing tent with Dan. It was nice, living there. I hung out with Dan's friends and had a pretty normal life. I was happy, because I felt like I fit in.

I felt like I had a proper life again.

The whole zombie thing stayed a secret between Dan, his dad and I, because we couldn't understand it ourselves, let alone explain it to others. We just said that I had somehow survived out there. Not very believable but no one questioned it.

One day, while searching for something mildly entertaining to do, we found a hidden staircase at the back of the camp that led up to this platform. It was at the top of the wall, and had no railings or anything. We weren't really sure what it was built for, but it was cool. And so we went up there everyday, by ourselves.

"Do you ever wish you could go back to your old life?" Dan asked one time when we were up there. The sun had just started to set, and the view was amazing from up that high.

I thought about that question for a while. Did I want my old life back? A family, friends, I was pretty good at basketball. It was probably a great life. I seemed happy in the photographs.

And then I looked over at Dan, sitting there with that smirk on his face.

"Sometimes I do." I told him.

He nodded and looked away, staring back off into the distance.

"But," he turned his attention back to me, "I think this life's a lot better."

"Really," he laughed, "why?"

I shrugged. Sure, we were living in a tent only a few metres wide and the food was crap and we were confined in a giant concrete box, but it was somewhat nice. Nice knowing lots of people and actually fitting in somewhere. Nice sleeping and dreaming, even if there were nightmares. It was nice to be alive again, even if that meant having to be here. No longer having to walk around aimlessly, having no one to talk to and having only your mind as company.

And it was nice to be with Dan. Just finally having him as a friend without having to save his life every two hours.

I had forgotten how long I'd known him. Surely it had only been a few months. But it felt like years. I felt like I knew everything about him. I knew every detail, what he loves and hates, how he walks and talks and laughs and breathes. I had taken attention to everything he did. He was intriguing.

I don't really know how I felt about him. We were friends, sure, but he acted differently around me than he did with his other friends. It was like he talked more about personal things around me. He would joke around with them all day and then once we were alone he changed.

I couldn't help but think we could have been something more than friends. Maybe not even in a romantic way, but there was something there. Something that I didn't understand.

And I wondered if he thought about it too.

Was he the reason this life was better than what I might have had before?

There was a long pause as I thought about these things.

"I don't know," I finally answered, causing Dan to raise an eyebrow. "Maybe because-" I looked away, not wanting him to see the redness that had crept onto my face. "Maybe because of you."

I heard a soft chuckle and looked up. He was blushing a little, but he was smiling.

I found myself smiling too.

The sky had turned orange as the sun continued setting. The light bounced off his hair, and his eyes looked brighter. He almost looked like he was glowing. It was mesmerising. Beautiful, even.

And that day we stayed up there longer than we had before. Soon it got darker and the stars had come out.

We were rarely up here at night. And it was amazing. Almost like when I sat in that broken convertible months before. But now I was up higher, and I was with Dan.

I lied back, my legs dangling off the edge of the platform. Dan did the same.

I don't know how long we stayed up there. All the noise from inside the camp had died down and it was silent.

Suddenly I remembered why I had loved stargazing so much before. It really was amazing. Just staring at millions of lights spread across a dark blue sky. It's like you forget about all your problems and you become solely fixated on what you see above you. I guess I appreciated it even more that I was alive.

And it was beautiful.

I felt Dan's fingers brush against mine, only briefly though. It made me realise how close together we were. The platform wasn't very big, after all.

I just thought it must have been an accident.

Then it happened again, except it was almost like his hand lingered, before he pulled it away. I heard a faint sigh.

Now, there was probably never going to be anything romantic between Dan and myself. And there wasn't then. But I couldn't help but reach out and grab his hand, but slowly.

Another faint sigh, although it was different from the other one. It seemed more happy.

No one talked or moved. We just lied there with our fingers intertwined. There was something satisfying about it. Like it said something that couldn't be said with words. Something that I maybe needed to say. And maybe he did too.

And I was happy.

* * *

_The world truly is beautiful at this time of the night._

_The world around you is quiet and nothing feels real, _

_not even your problems that gnaw at your mind during the day. _

_There are thousands, even millions of stars that freckle the night sky _

_and as you stare at them you realise_

_that stargazing always seems to make things better._

_The world is beautiful at this time of night,_

_I just wish more people were awake to experience it._

_(a.y)_

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone. This isn't the epilogue (I will do that later) but this is the last proper chapter in this story *sobbing*. But I've got that other story up now and I'll be working on that so... yeah. **

**Thankyooouu everyone for everything and I'll save my speech for later but you're all awesome. **

**DISCLAIMER: The bottom bit in italics isn't mine. I don't have a full name of the author but her first name is Anthea (I think) and she's an amazing poet and oh my god you have to read her stuff. **

**Her tumblr is: 2wentysixletters Like seriously go look it's amazing. **

**Anyway...**

**Until next time, enjoy your fanfiction**

**~Chelsea :) xxx**


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